It’s all in the wrist for Princeton’s Dawson Lambert

When you think of strong kids at Princeton High School, one quickly thinks of football players like Cade Odell, Rhett Pearson and Noah LaPorte and recent grads Bennett Williams and Payne Miller.

You can add PHS senior Dawson Lambert to that list. He’s sneaky strong.

The PHS senior cross country and track runner is the No. 1 ranked arm wrestling champion in the state in the teen division for 154 pounds, crowned the 2024 championship.

He’s so fast that some of the kids at PHS and competitors at state that have challenged him don’t even know what hit them.

“It’s crazy the technique and practice that actually goes into it. Size and appearance you wouldn’t think anything of it but that’s not the case,” said LaPorte, a 6-foot-6 senior heading to Northwestern University to play football.

After taking a challenge in the choral room, Odell said Lambert “is very good and surprised me.”

“Couple of people have said, ‘Wow, you’re really fast.’ Some have said, ‘I want a rematch,’ and usually I do and I let them go and I just hold them,” Lambert said.

The first tournament Lambert entered was the Illinois state championships in 2023 “just trying to see how I’d do. I wrestled four people and got first place.”

“But that was just teen’s division, for 18 and under,” he added. “There’s amateur and pros where you got to be ranked top 20 in the state. I got first place and said, ‘Hmm, ‘I’m going to do all 3.’

“Last year I got first place in all divisions for 154 pounds and under. That’s when they ranked me No. 1.”

Lambert, 17, was taught the arm-wrestling trade by his father, Jarrod, who was an undefeated champion in his day.

“He did it up until he was like 23 years old and he never lost,” Lambert said. “First he got me into working out and then once when I got pretty strong, he said, ‘You should start arm wrestling’ and always telling me stories.

“He would always tell me, ‘Go fast,’ because that’s what my dad did. He went fast. Said to just train your wrist really strong.”

Father may know best but the son is too much for him these days.

“He’s nowhere near as good as he was but I beat him now,” Dawson said with a smile.

Lambert said it’s all about technique and training your wrists.

“I just know what I’m doing,” he said. “I always tell people the best training for arm wrestling, is arm wrestling. There’s so many workouts you can do. Lot of movements in arm wrestling and training your wrists. I’m really good at going really fast so I train my fast-twitch muscles. That’s just what I do.”

Lambert, who made $600 at the state competition, has put his talents to good use, challenging workers at Los Ranchitos for free food. Needless to say, he has been since cut off that deal.

While he rests his wrist and elbow from last week’s state competition, Lawson plans to compete in a team state championship and would like to try national events down the road. He said his dad cautions him not to over do it.

“He doesn’t want me to wrestle too much because your elbow starts hurting and you’ve got to get surgery,” he said. “My elbow doesn’t hurt yet. I don’t want to take it that far. But until my elbow starts hurting, I want to keep going.”

Lambert would like to go into the Air Force after graduation and pursue his dream job one day to become a natural resource officer.

“I’m always outdoors fishing and stuff,” he said.

Kevin Hieronymus has been the BCR Sports Editor since 1986. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com